Why Are Med Students Selling Sex?

In the modern-day Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts might star as a struggling med student. With rising tuition fees, scarce part-time jobs, and more years spent in school, students are desperate to make a dent in their debt that's rising at an exponential rate. So desperate, in fact, that an increasing amount of students in the United Kingdom are turning to prostitution to pay for their education, according to a recent paper in the Student British Medical Journal. Ten percent of British university students say they knew another student who performed sex work in 2010 to cover tuition and living expenses—two and a half times more students than a decade before, claims Joan Dixon, the paper's author and a final-year medical student.

Now, you may be contemplating furthering your career by going back to school. But there are better ways to pay for it than selling sex, organs, or your firstborn child. That's why we did some digging to find out how you can help pay for your graduate education without drowning in debt. (School isn't for everyone. Check out the 10 most successful college dropouts.)

First thing's first: Find out if you NEED to go back to school. Some jobs reward an advanced education—others, not so much. For example, a software engineer with a master's degree at Cisco makes 23 percent more than if they only had a bachelor's. A project manager at IBM, however, makes 3 percent less with a master's degree, found a recent survey by CareerBliss, a site that tracks salaries and job opportunities. Also, keep in mind that average salaries are pulled upward by a few lucky high earners. "Plan on the lowest paying job you might want to have, because that could easily be your earnings,” says Reyna Gobel, author of Graduation Debt. Before you start filling out school applications, use online tools such as Salary.com to calculate what your degree is worth in the area you want to live and work.

Clear out your short-term debt beforehand. If you plan to go back to school full time, you'll probably need to take out loans to cover both your tuition and your expected living expenses. However, those loans won't cover all the plane tickets to friends' bachelor parties you put on your Visa last year. While you still want to have an emergency savings, paying down existing debt is important, says Heather Jarvis, who graduated from Duke University School of Law owing $125,000 in student loans and facing 30-years’ worth of $1,200 monthly payments. She's now an attorney and student loan expert who offers educational resources and training for student loan borrowers. The less you have to spend on ongoing financial commitments, the more comfortably you'll live as a grad student and the more likely you'll be able to pay back a big chunk of your loan after graduation.

Find free money. Most Ph.D. and academic programs can offer you grants, fellowships, and research assistant positions to cover tuition. They may even pay you a salary. But for medical, law, and business degrees, funding options are more limited. However, you can still apply for many of the same scholarships offered to undergraduates—particularly ones offered by private foundations, ethnic associations, or even your own employer. “Believe it or not, it's worth getting in touch with your high school guidance counselor again. They're up to date on many funding sources,” says Gobel. And for more loan advice, check out FinAid!, the U.S. Department of Education, or your perspective school's financial aid center.

Take federal loans instead of private. Beginning in 2010, graduate students could cover the full cost of their tuition and expenses with a PLUS loan directly from the federal Department of Education. But starting this year, federal loans for graduate students aren't subsidized, which means you'll start accruing interest while you're in school. Interest rates for these loans are currently fixed at 7.9 percent. Yes, that's high, but don't jump over to a private lender right away. “Federal loans come with guarantees and the ability to put off payment for a few months if you're having serious financial trouble. Private loans don't usually include those guarantees,” says Jarvis. (Head over to Men's Health University for even more student loan money-saving tips.)

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